Chiromancy or cheiromancy, Greek cheir, "hand"; manteia, "divination", is the art of characterization and foretelling the future through the study of the palm, also known as palmistry, palm-reading, chirology or hand analysis. The practice is found all over the world, with numerous cultural variations. Those who practice chiromancy are generally called palmists, palm readers, hand readers, hand analysts, or chirologists. Palmistry can trace its roots back to Indian Hindu Astrology known in Sanskrit as Jyotish and Roma gypsy fortune tellers. From India, the art of palmistry spread to China, Tibet, Egypt, Persia and to other countries. The author of this book, Cheiro, was so famous in this art, that even those who were not believers in the occult had their hands read by him.
